Hazelnut and Espresso Cookies
Why I Love This Recipe
I'm a nut fiend, and crazily collect and hoard sweet nut recipes - this is a new favourite! Find out more about these here
Ingredients You'll Need
2 cups plain/all-purpose flour
1 cup hazelnuts, whole
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp finely ground roasted coffee beans (plus 45 whole beans for decoration…if you have them)
220g cold unsalted butter, cut into walnut-sized pieces
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions
Grind together hazelnuts, sugar and salt in a food processor till the hazelnuts are finely ground, then add the flour and ground coffee and pulse till evenly mixed.
Add the butter and pulse till the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs or (if your food processor isn't big enough like mine), rub the butter through the flour mix with your fingertips.
Drizzle in the vanilla extract and pulse or hand mix till the dough begins to form clumps. Mix so that the dough is well combined, then split the mixture in half and shape: either form two flat, round patties, or line a rectangular box with clingfilm and pack the mixture in (I used the box for my foil to do this)
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, and if you formed your dough into patties, roll out to 5-6mm thickness between two sheets of non-stick baking paper and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Alternatively, if you used a mold, carefully remove the dough and cut it into slices 5-6mm thick and place on a baking tray 5cm apart. Gently press a coffee bean into the centre of each cookie.
Bake for about 14-16 minutes, or till they begin to go golden around the edges. Remove baking sheet from the oven and cool cookies on the tray for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for a month, but good luck getting them to last that long!
